Memories of the Beloved
by DracoMalfoy456
Summary: When Hermione visits the grave of her late husband, she goes through all of the memories that brought them together, and that brought them to where she was now. Not epilogue compliant, rated T just to be safe. This is my longest one shot ever, so I hope you enjoy it. :


**A/N: Hello! This is my newest story, and it's not very good, but it's the longest one I've ever written. I have not proof read it (I don't tend to proof read most of what I write, since I can't stand my writing. .-.) I'm thinking about possibly getting a beta, but I have no idea how to, or if I even can get one, so if you have any idea, please message me/review. Also, if you catch any mistakes, like spelling or grammar, or anything, please review/message me. Thanks! I hope you like it, and if not, I'm sorry. .-. Enjoy (I hope)! **

She sat down besides his gravestone. Tears fell down her face, as she held a single red rose in her hands. She had been sitting here for the past hour, but had no inclination to leave, despite the bitter cold. She didn't know how to move anymore. She could barely breathe due to the pain in her heart. She could still remember the feel of his arms around her, holding her close to him. She could still remember how safe she felt in his arms. She couldn't believe he was gone. She didn't want to believe he was gone.

She thought of all of their memories. She remembered when she first met him, in Hogwarts.

He was cruel. He insulted her, and she hated him for it. She, at that point in her life, wished he would die. Funny that now he actually was dead, how broken she felt, like her heart had been ripped in two.

She thought of the first time they met as adults, three years after the war.

It was brief. Just a glance, really. She saw him, his golden blonde hair shinning, shimmering in the sunlight. His face was shear perfection, one of an angel. She hardly believed it was him at first. But before she had time to see if it was him, or not, he was gone. Confused, she started walking toward her destination, Flourish and Blotts. She got most of her books, and tried to reach for the last book on her list, but it was too high up. Frustrated, she reached again on her tippy toes, but still was not tall enough. She was about to ask for some help, when a man came up behind her, and got the book for her. Shocked, she turned around, wanting to thank the person who had helped her. When she saw who had helped her, her heart stopped. To this day she is not sure if it was because of who it was she saw, or of how beautiful he looked.

There he was. The man she hated with a passion, smiling kindly at her. It was so bizarre, seeing a smile on his face, let alone a kind one, but as she later realized, she loved that smile.

Adding to the bizarreness, Malfoy had talked to her as if they hadn't been enemies most of their young life. He asked her how she was, and asked her if she was free for a cup of tea, to catch up. Since she had nothing else to do, she nodded; still confused as to why he was talking to her so casually, almost as if they were friends, not former rivals.

After paying for her books, she left with him, and felt oddly in peace with their silence. They ordered tea, and talked. He told her how he was now a healer. After the war he realized he wanted to do something with his life, and signed up for Healer training. Now he was just out of training, and had started his career. He was a pretty good healer, he told her. In return, she told him about her job in the ministry, how she helped House Elves get more rights, along with other magical creatures who were mistreated. Malfoy smiled lightly at this, before looking at a wristwatch, and stating how he had to get back to St. Mungo's, but that he would love to talked to her again soon. She smiled, and said she'd like that as well. Thus began their friendship.

They met over lunch at least once a week from then on out. She began to enjoy his company; in fact it was sometimes the highlight of her week, meeting him for lunch.

One day, she brought her at-the-time boyfriend Ronald Weasley to one of their lunch dates, hoping they would get along. Unfortunately for her, they did not. She never forgot the look on Malfoy's face when he saw the two of them, holding hands, smiling at each other. It took her a while to realize what that certain look was, but all she knew at the time was that she didn't like how it marred his beautiful face. The look was there for only a second though, before his usual cool mask was in place, masking all emotions. He sat down, and politely nodded his head at both Hermione and Ron, not saying a word.

That was how the rest of the lunch went, Malfoy barely saying a word, just nodding, or perhaps answering with a yes, or no. Ron was the same, taking to just glaring at Malfoy while Hermione tried to make small talk, but Hermione was concerned for her new friend. Malfoy usually was the one to talk during their lunches together, not that it bothered her. But him not talking certainly did. Near the end of the lunch, she had had enough, and asked him what the problem was. He bit out a short 'nothing', and continued eating his food, avoiding her eyes. Hermione was confused, but didn't question it further. After he finished eating, he left with a quick nod in her direction, leaving her confused, and a bit hurt. She had thought they were friends.

She didn't see him again for a while. She had tried to contact him, sending over a hundred letters to him, but she got no replies. She never showed it, but it hurt her deeply. She didn't understand what she did wrong. Sure, she hadn't told him she was bringing Ron, but she didn't think he would care. He had to have known they were together, since it was all over the profit when they had started going out. She hid her confusion and hurt, and tried to forget about the blonde wizard to no avail. She had almost given up hope that she'd ever see him again when she ran into him.

It was at a ministry ball celebrating the fourth anniversary of the end of the war. She was attending with Ron, and was smiling a bittersweet smile, happy to be around so many familiar faces, but sad as she thought of all the witches and wizards who dies during the war.

She sat through many tedious, almost boring speeches. Near the end of this one speech, she was nearly asleep. Bored, she let her eyes wander, looking at all the familiar faces. One stood out to her, and she was shocked to see him. Her eyes widened, and stared at his platinum blonde head. After a few minutes, he must have felt her eyes on him, because he turned, and their eyes met. Hermione still remembers how it felt like the world stopped at that moment, nothing mattered except him. She distantly heard clapping, but all she cared about was him. After a while, he looked away, but she continued to look. She wanted to make sure he didn't disappear before she had the chance to talk to him. Soon, everyone was asked to stand, while they moved all the tables to the walls so everyone could dance. That was when she started walking over to him, ignoring Ron calling after her. She had almost reached him, when he turned, and faced her. He smiled lightly, and took her breath away. He was exactly as she remembered.

When they met, she was torn between hugging him, and slapping him. So she chose both. She lifted her hand, and slapped him as hard as she could, before pulling him into a hug in the same second. Malfoy was so shocked, he hadn't responded for a few moments, but after his shock wore off, he hesitantly put his arms around her. _It's good to see you._ He said to her in a low voice, which sent shivers down her spine. _You've been avoiding me._ She said in a casual voice, hiding her hurt yet again, but he seemed to see right through her, his eyes turning sad. _I'm sorry, things came up. _He whispered. She scoffed. _So much so you couldn't write a single bloody letter? _Her eyes flashed with anger, as she pulled back from their embrace, enough so they were still touching, but it allowed her to see his face.

He saw the anger in her eyes, and removed his hands from around her waist. He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. _I'm sorry, _he repeated_. There isn't anything else I can but I'm sorry. _She scoffed again. _You could tell me why you were avoiding me; it's been almost half a year since I last saw you Draco. I thought you no longer cared about me. _Her voice nearly broke at the end, as she tried to stop the tears. But it didn't help, and a single tear fell down her face. Draco walked up to her, and gently wiped away the tear. It looked like he was about to say something, but what, she never knew, because Ron chose that moment to come up, and put his arms around Hermione, causing Draco to take a step back.

Draco looked between the two, before nodding politely, and walking away. Hermione's heart fell as she watched his retreating form. But she turned to Ron, and put on a fake smile.

The ball was coming to an end, and she hadn't seen Draco since. She ignored the pain in her chest, and faked another smile, wanting the ball to just end. She remembered her surprise when Ron walked to the front of the room, bringing her with him, and got down on one knee. Her hand flew to her mouth, and she immediately said yes. She saw a wide grin stretch across Ron's face, but that was not what caught her attention. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement, and when she looked up, she saw a familiar blonde head storm out of the room, his head down. Concerned, she told Ron she had to go to the bathroom, and followed her friend out of the ballroom. She followed him, calling his name, but he didn't turn back, he just pretended he hadn't heard her. She saw him turn a corner, but when she got there, he was gone. Her heart sunk, as she slowly walked back to her fiancé.

The next time they met was perhaps one of the most memorable. It was at her bachelorette party, the day before her wedding. Ginny had insisted upon going out to this brand new night club, and despite her complaints, here she stood, feeling slightly awkward as she watched all of her friends get wasted. She was not a drinker, so she ordered only virgin drinks. Halfway through the party, Ginny walked over to Hermione, and practically forced her to drink something containing alcohol, saying how it was her last night of freedom, and she had better enjoy it. After enough badgering, she gave in, and drained a glass of whatever it was Ginny gave her. The rest of the night is still kind of a blur to her, but she remembers enough. She remembers him, she remembers walking up to him, and smiling brightly at him, telling him how hot he looked. She remembers his smirk, as he looked her up and down, obviously liking what he saw. She remembers dancing with him, relishing in their closeness. She remembers the kisses. But most of all, she remembers following him to a motel, and he feel of his skin against hers, and how good it felt to be under him.

When she woke the next morning, her head was pounding. The last night was a blur to her, and she barely remembered any of it. But as more minutes passed, the more she remembered, and the more horrified she became. She had cheated on her soon to be husband, with no other than Draco Malfoy. She looked to the spot next to her on the bed, and was relieved he wasn't there.

Feeling nauseous, she ran towards the bathroom, and vomited the contents of her stomach. After she was finished, she cleaned herself up, and started sobbing. She couldn't believe she had cheated on Ron, the man she had been in love with since third year. After thirty minutes of sobbing, she managed to pick herself up, and get ready for the day ahead of her. She had decided to ignore this had ever happened, and apparated to Mrs. Weasley house so she could get ready for her wedding.

After much panicking, and rushing to get everything and one ready, she finally heard the bridal march. She took her father's arm, and walked out to meet her soon-to-be husband, and her future. The rest of the ceremony passed quickly, while she beamed, ecstatic to be marrying Ron, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right, that she should not be marrying the man next to her. She ignored the feeling, and when the time came, she said her vows, and her I do's, and heard as Ron said his. She heard the minister pronounce them man and wife, and felt Ron kiss her with passion. But it felt all wrong.

She didn't have time to determine her feelings, before she was being practically dragged back down the aisle by Ron to get their photos taken, and to begin their party. She hardly got a moment to herself the rest of the night. After the party ended, she and Ron went to consummate their marriage. Soon, she forgot all about how wrong their marriage felt, and she forced herself to feel happy as she lay beside her husband.

It was six weeks later. She hadn't been feeling well at all this past month and a half, but she tried to ignore it. Finally, after vomiting all her breakfast out, she decided she would take the test. She was sure she wasn't pregnant, since she and Ron had used protection every time they had sex, but it made sense with her symptoms.

So, she went out, and bought a muggle home pregnancy test, and waited anxiously for the result when she got back home. After what seemed like an hour to her, she saw two pink lines, and broke down in tears. _We were so careful._ She thought, as she continued to stare at the test. She wasn't upset over the fact she was going to have a child that scared her; it was that it was so soon. They were just married, they weren't ready for kids. Well, ready or not, they were expecting.

She spent the rest of the night worrying how she would tell Ron, and how would react when he got home from work. When he finally walked in the door, all of her careful planning about how to tell him went out the window, and she just blurted it out to him. She watched in horror as he stood there frozen, his coat halfway off. After a tense minute, he walked over to her, engulfed her into a hug, and broke down in tears.

The hug lasted for a few minutes before they pulled apart, not quite ready for what was coming, but as ready as they could have been.

It was a while before she saw Draco again. By that time, she was already six months pregnant, and was showing. She was beaming, feeling ecstatic, as she went to her healer's appointment by herself, since Ron was out on a mission for the Aurors. As she was about to enter the elevator, she walked into someone. The force in which they collided was so much she lost her balance, and would have fallen had the person she ran into not put their arms around her waist, steadying her. She was about to thank the person, when she saw who it was. Her breath caught in her throat as she caught sight of familiar blonde hair, and gray eyes.

They stood there, staring at one another for about a minute before she remembered where they were. She blushed lightly, and stepped out of his embrace, desperately trying to not think about their last encounter. Draco smiled lightly, and greeted her kindly, asking her how she was. She told him she was fine, and how she was here for a healer's appointment, since she was almost six months pregnant.

_I noticed, _he said, his eyes wandering down to her stomach._ You and the Weasel didn't waste any time in having a child. _The way he said it wasn't cruel, or rude, it was merely an observation. She bit her lip. _We weren't planning on having a child, in fact anytime we slept together we used protection. I guess it must not have worked…_ She said, slightly uncomfortable talking about this with him.

He raised an eyebrow. _Did you use magical, or muggle protection?_ Hermione shuffled her feet slightly in embarrassment, really not wanting to talk about this anymore, but she decided to answer his question anyway. _We used magical, but we must not have done it properly._ Draco frowned, but let the subject drop as he noticed the time. He told her how he had to go now, but he would love to meet up one day, to catch up. The way he acted was like they had never slept together, and that was alright with her. The less she thought about that night, the more she could pretend it was just a dream.

The next day, she got an owl from Draco asking her to lunch that day at the Leaky Caldron. She wrote a reply saying she'd love to, and that she would be there at noon.

At a quarter to noon, she got ready, and left to go meet him. As she got to the restaurant, she saw his familiar blonde hair, and smiled lightly. She walked over to him, and greeted him with a small hug. They then went and got a table, and started talking about anything that came to mind. Hermione couldn't remember when she'd last felt so at peace then when she was now with Draco. She studied his face, becoming mesmerized by him. So much so, that she didn't realize he had asked her a question, until he gently touched her arm. She blushed, and asked him to repeat himself. He smirked, and asked her if she knew if it was a boy or girl? She smiled, and replied that it was a boy.

They sat in a comfortable silence while they finished their food. They were about to leave, when she saw Harry walk in with Ginny. She was deeply confused at that, since Ron had told her he was out on a mission, and since Harry was Ron's partner, shouldn't Harry be on mission as well? Hermione excused herself from the table, and walked up to Harry.

_Hey! _She greeted,_ I thought you and Ron were out on a mission. _Harry frowned, and shook his head. _No… we have a week off. Why did you think we had a mission? _It was Hermione's turn to frown. _That is what he told me. Why would he lie about that? _Harry said he didn't know, but that he would ask Ron the next time he saw him. Waving goodbye, she returned to Draco, and they left the pub to go into Diagon Alley, Hermione deep in thought about why Ron would lie to her.

They were walking for about ten minutes before Draco asked her what was wrong.

_It's nothing,_ she said, _I'm just thinking. _Draco gave her unimpressed look, and asked again. She sighed. _Ron had told me he was out on a mission, but Harry just told me it was their week off. I don't know why he would tell me he was out on a mission, when he wasn't. _Draco frowned, and put his arm around her shoulder,telling her it was probably nothing, even though that's not what he thought. Hermione could tell he didn't believe it, but she was glad he was at least trying to make her feel better. Looking at the time, Hermione said she had to go, but that they should meet up sometime. Even though she knew she shouldn't be around him since she had cheated on Ron with him, she couldn't help it. She enjoyed being around him, she felt more calm when she was with him than anywhere else, or with anyone else. He hugged her, and told that if she ever needed anything, she could go visit him in his flat in London. He gave her his address before walking away.

As Hermione moved onto the next memory, she let out a breath, and some more tears, as this memory was one of the more upsetting ones, but she forced herself to remember it, because even this memory was better than her reality at the moment.

Hermione sat around waiting for her husband to get home. It was late, later then he had said he would get home. She was concerned, but she couldn't quell the thought that he was cheating on her. She knew she was just being paranoid, and stupid. Ron would NEVER cheat on her, she was sure of it. But ever since he said he was on a mission when he wasn't a month ago, she didn't know what to believe. When he had come home the day after Harry told her they weren't on mission, she questioned him on his whereabouts. He faltered a second, obviously not expecting her to ask that. He then told her how he had needed a few days to himself, the whole pregnancy was over-whelming. He didn't tell her, because he didn't want her to feel bad. She didn't believe him 100%, but she pushed back the part of her that didn't believe him, and hugged him, telling him to tell her next time he wanted a vacation. But since the part of her, the paranoid part as she called it, was still there, she decided to put a tracking charm on him, so she would know where he was if she did the other part of the spell. She was going to give him five more minutes to get home before she used the charm, and apparated to where he was.

Five minutes passed, and she was getting angry. _Where the hell was he? _She thought. Deciding to just use the spell, she cast it, and apparated to where it told her to. When she finally was able to breathe again after the unpleasant sensation of disapparating, her heart stopped. She was outside a hotel room, and she could hear sounds of love making inside. Feeling sick, she opens the door with Alohamora, to make sure it is Ron in there, and she didn't just do the spell wrong.

She hadn't. In front of her was her husband currently naked while underneath him was a girl who Hermione did not know. She just stood there for a few seconds in shock, before turning around, and running. She wasn't able to run very fast due to the fact she was almost seven months pregnant. She ignored Ron, who when she started running got dressed hurriedly, and started running after her. Since she was so slow, Ron caught up with her, and started trying to explain himself, but Hermione wasn't listening. She didn't want excuses. So, she lifted her hand, and slapped him as hard as she could across his face, before disapparating away.

Looking back, she realizes she was lucky she hadn't splinched herself, but at the time, she hadn't cared, she was to upset. She looked around herself, and she didn't recognize where she was. She was in front of a door, but she didn't know whose. She looked around, and recognized the address as the one Draco had told her. Of course her subconscious would take her to him; she felt the safest when she was with him.

Knocking on the door, she couldn't stop the tears from falling. She had just seen her husband sleeping with someone else. She never thought he would do something like that, but obviously she was wrong, she thought, as a sob escaped her lips. A few moments passed before the door opened, showing a slightly angry Draco wearing only his pajamas, and a dressing robe. When he saw Hermione, his face turned into concern, and he walked forward to take her in his arms. She laid her head down on his chest, and started crying again. Draco asked no questions, he just rubbed her back, and makes calming sounds, and said soothing things to her. After ten minutes, she had calmed down enough to go inside his house for some tea.

Draco went into his kitchen, leaving her in the living room, thinking about all that had happened. When he returned, she was near tears again. He handed her a cup of tea, and asked her what had happened, and so she told him everything. About how after Ron had lied to her about being on mission, she placed a tracking spell on him, in case she ever needed to find him. She then told him how Ron had been late coming home, so she had used the spell, to find out where he was, and how she caught him cheating. At the end of her story, she burst into tears again, as Draco tried to calm her again. It took her a little longer to calm down this time, but when she did, she noticed how Draco's face was contorted in anger again.

_W-what is wrong Draco?_ She asked him, concerned.

_I can't believe that idiot would cheat on you. I mean, he'd have to be blind as well as stupid to not want you. _He growled after a few seconds. Her eyes widened in shock. Of all the things she thought he'd say, that certainly was not it. _B-but just look at me! I-I'm fat, and bloated, and just look at my hair! It's no wonder he'd go to someone else. _Hermione looked down, as a few tears fell down her face. Draco shook his head, and took her chin gently in his hand, lifting her head so she could look him in the eye. _You are absolutely gorgeous Granger, no matter what. You being pregnant doesn't change that one bit. And I happen to like your hair. So don't think like that. I've known for a while that the Weasel was an idiot, but this just takes the cake. _

Hermione takes a few seconds to let what he said sink in, before lunging at him, and kissing him hard on the mouth. Not expecting her to do that, Draco almost falls over, but catches himself before he does, and kisses her back. After a few minutes, Draco pulls back, panting slightly as he looks her in the eye. He grins, and kisses her lightly. _You don't know how log I've wanted to do that. _He says, brushing a lock of her hair back behind her ears. She blushes, as she realizes she had wanted to do that for a while as well, but she pushed it back because she was with Ron. Now, as she looked into Draco's eyes, she knew that she loved him, at least a part of her did. She had just pushed it back, like she did with so many things. She smiled, and leaned forward to kiss him again. They then spent the night together, snogging and talking about anything and everything. She had never felt as happy and in peace as she did right now and she didn't want the night to end.

But end it did. The next day she had to go home to talk to Ron. She told him that under no circumstances could they still be together. She refused to hear his explanation, saying she didn't care; nothing he said would change her mind. He then got angry, and told her that she needed him, to take care of the baby, and of her. Since her hormones were so out of wake, she got extremely angry that he thought she needed him, and told him that he should expect to get an owl soon about their divorce. As she disapparated away she thought of their short marriage. It saddened her greatly, because she always had thought he was the one, but when she got to her destination, she saw Draco's flat, and she realized just maybe she could be happy with him.

The next memory she remembered was a bit happier. It was the birth of her son, who Draco had insisted she call Scorpius. She rolled her eyes when he told her this, thinking he wasn't serious, but she soon found out he was serious, very. He told her it was a tradition to name Malfoy children after constellations, and since he had no inclination to leave her, he wanted her child to be named after the stars, but he wouldn't force her. Hermione thought about it, and said she might, if she could get full custody of the child from Ron.

This discussion was two months after she had left Ron, and a month after her divorce was finalized. A few days later, Hermione's water broke, and Draco rushed her to the hospital. After many grueling hours later, she finally met her son. Shock was the first emotion she felt though, when she held her baby. On top of his head was platinum blonde hair, and when he opened his eyes at her, she could clearly see light gray eyes. She was confused for a second, before realization settled in on her. She turned to face Draco, who still had a look of shock on his face. She grinned at him, and he gave her a confused look. _Draco, do you remember that night, right before I married Ron? We didn't use protection, did we? _His eyes widened as what she said sank in, and a grin slowly made its way on his face. _So, Scorpius is mine? _He asked, his eyes shining. Hermione nodded; as his grin went wider, and he bent down to kiss her lightly on the lips. Just then, their son started crying, so the nurses came and took him. Draco took a seat in the chair by her bed, and brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes. _You're beautiful. _He whispered before kissing her again.

The rest of the memories she had with Draco filled her mind. The day they got married, the birth of their second child, a daughter they named Cassiopeia, their children growing up into the wonderful adults they were now, with children of their own. When she finally opened her eyes again, to face Draco's grave, it was early morning. She knew she shouldn't have stayed out all night, as it wouldn't be good for her health, but she didn't care. She gently placed the rose she had been holding on his grave, and said her goodbye.

"Goodbye my love. I miss you more then you could ever imagine, and you don't know how much I wish you were here with me, or that I was with you. I don't know how I have lived without you, and now, I'm not really sure how much longer I will. I've been getting weaker Draco, ever since you left me those six months ago. I'm not sad, because I know soon I'll be with you, and we'll be happy together up in heaven. Scorpius' birthday is coming up. He's going to be turning 55 this year, and I know he misses you more then he will ever say. I don't want to leave him, but I think it's almost my time." She smiled lightly, as she slowly got up. "For over 55 years we were married and soon we will be reunited. Until then, my love."

She slowly walked back to her car, which she preferred to use over apparition now-a-days, and drove back to the home she had shared with Draco. A month later she was found dead in her house by her daughter, having died overnight by natural causes. She had a smile on her face, as she was now with her beloved husband.


End file.
